Within gaming establishments, such as casinos, players can place wagers by supplying funds to a gaming device. The funds provided by the player remain at the point of wagering (such as a slot machine, drop box, or other collection point) until a representative of the gaming establishment, such as a member of a drop team, physically removes the funds that were tendered by the player. The funds are then typically transported to a soft count room within the gaming establishment. Eventually, the collected funds are counted, bundled, and prepared for transport to a financial institution for deposit. At a later point in time, an armored vendor physically transfers the bundled funds from the gaming establishment to the financial institution. Once the funds reach the financial institution, they are eventually processed and deposited into a financial account of the gaming establishment.
Based on this labor intensive and time consuming process, an undesirable amount of time can pass between when a wager is placed by the player and when a financial account of the gaming establishment is ultimately credited with the deposit. This period of time can be further extended when financial institutions are not be available to accept cash deposits and/or when armored vendors are not available to transport the funds, such as over weekends, after hours, or on holidays. During this period of time, the gaming establishment is not able to draw interest, use, or otherwise benefit from the funds that have been wagered by players at gaming devices of the gaming establishment.